I have had this conversation with several pro musicians here in music city and they say that all those heroes spent countless hours practicing - 1000 hours for every hour on stage. Very very few are gifted without the work that goes in to it. Follows is a quote my former instructor shared with me.
Finally, I'll finish with a quote from someone with much more personal experience with this concept than yours truly. Charlie Banacos is one of the most respected music teachers in the world. He has taught many of the world's top jazz and rock musicians from his perch in the Boston area. In the April, 1988 issue of Guitar Player, he wrote a letter to the editor concerning some comments that a former student of his, Jeff Berlin, had made about the importance of practice:
"[Jeff]'s right when he says correct practice is the way to great playing; in my experience teaching Jeff and others, it's the only factor separating great players from others. And I'm talking about thousands of students. I actually had Jeff, Mike Stern, Leni Stern, Dean Brown, Neil Stubenhaus, Wayne Krantz, Jay Azzolina, and Bruce Bartlett on my schedule at the same time! They worked hard for their artistry and deserve the recognition they've received..."
So I guess the moral to the story is that if you're asking yourself, "how far can I go?", the answer is: "as far as you want to go, as long as you're willing to work at it..."
It all rolls into one and nothing comes for free
There's nothing you can hold for very long
And when you hear that song come crying like the wind
It seems like all this life was just a dream
